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sarah-blue-eyes · 4 years

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2020 In Review

Hoo boy, here we go.

[Ok just before I begin. I had this queued to post in the first month of January but it doesn’t seem like that ever happened haha. Better late than never I suppose!]

So I am a nostalgic bitch, and since 2011, have loved to make memory boxes for each year, where I put trinkets and memories into a shoebox. This year I have continued that tradition, but I have also kept track of my happy memories throughout 2020 in my planner. This was done with the intention for me to upload a year-in-review sort of thing in hopes that maybe like, 3 people max on this god-forsaken site will read it. This sort of reminiscence was inspired by my friend @a-lbeit, who has done these for a few years now and me, as a slut for nostalgia, was encouraged to do the same back in January (I think? What even is my memory at this point?)

2020, as it has been for many, was a very shit year, and I am no different. I would safely say that this year has undeniably been the worst I have lived through. But I am here. I am present. And I have made it through some of the darkest times to face 2021 with a new sense of hopefulness. Keeping track of my happier memories has been something that has truly got me through this clusterfuck of a year, so I am glad that I can finally go through them all again and share them with you.

Read it, or don’t, I don’t give a shit what you do with your time, but if you do, I hope that you aren’t bored to tears. And I hope to keep myself accountable to continue to do this for years to come.

Buckle up, grab a hot drink and a snack and get comfy, because this is a JOURNEY.

January:

· Kicked the new year off with hosting a 1920’s themed party with some of my closest friends at my family home at the beach. Had fun with drunk SingStar, playing What Do You Meme, creating a playlist with everyone’s top 3 songs of the decade (it was a bangin’ playlist I must say), and just overall drinking too much and having a riotous time

· I remember going to the beach New Year’s Day (as is tradition in Australia) and playing ultimate frisbee in the shallows and completing a crossword puzzle on the sand (I am a 75-year-old woman, it is just a fact of life)

· I also had my friend Kirsten from South Australia stay with me for the New Year’s period and it was lovely to have a guest over! I haven’t spoken to her much this year, she sort of fell off the face of the planet, but I hope she is doing ok.

· Went town to Torquay (a beach town in Victoria) for the 6th time for Beach Mission, which is essentially a holiday program for kids in preschool-year 9 where we run activities for them. It’s a Christian-based program but the aim isn’t to convert the kids or anything like that, it’s more to show God’s love to them through our actions and how we as Christians live our lives. It’s also a convenient way for parents to dish their kids off for a few hours too haha. This was my final year of being a part of this program, and I am so pleased to have made so many memories and (hopefully) impacted many children’s lives during my time there

· I remember going on a late-night beach walk with my boyfriend Josh, talking about what the year had in store for us. We were just sitting on the beach, as you do, and I saw a shooting star. I can’t remember what I wished for (if anything) but in that moment, life was a dream.

· The week after beach mission I started at my new internship! It was for a place called KidsCo, who run school holiday programs at workplaces, so parents don’t need to take time off work to look after them. I helped with client relations and a lot of behind-the scenes stuff. I really loved it there

· On the very first day of my internship I remember there was torrential rain, and the train home was delayed by like, an hour or so lol

· One of the best parts about interning at KidsCo was that they were the official child-minding service for the Australian Open. I make an effort to go each year, but I was lucky enough to get free ground-entry for me and a guest for the duration of the event. I went quite a few times and got to take my mum and Josh along as well.

· Saw my only concert of the year, The Veronicas, at the Australian Open. When I say the moment the violin riff at the start of Untouched absolutely went the fuck off is an understatement. Grade 5 me would have cried (and 23 year old me did a little bit too tbh.) Yet another of one of my “all-time-favourite-songs” that I’ve had the pleasure of hearing live. (I also went through the year feeling sad that this was the first time in 11 years I hadn’t gone to a concert, but this one certainly fell through the cracks)

· Started planning my trip to the UK to see my twin sister, and best friend, Jess

· Went away to Rye for the Australia Day weekend #changethedate. An excellent time with excellent mates, and went to the beach pretty much every day and got mindlessly sloshed every night

· Listened to the Triple J Hottest 100. I think 4 of my picks made it in, which was pretty good

· Continued my job as the office manager/events coordinator at my church

February:

Basketball started back after the summer break for my two different teams, The Vikings and The Wildcats (honestly such a highlight of this year with how the rest of it ended up going)

As a team-bonding activity at KidsCo we hired a boat for a few hours and I got more drunk that I had been for a while. It was a very fun time jetting down the Yarra, waving drunkedly at the people jogging by

For Valentine’s day Josh and I had an indoor picnic with our favourite food! The weather was shit for Feb, hence the indoor nature of the picnic

Saw Shrek the Musical with two of my closest pals, Bec and Katie (I honestly forgot that this happened in 2020 hahaha) but it was ICONIC

Had a Jackbox night with The Boys

Had my cousin Amy from England over for dinner! I hadn’t seen her in 5 or 6 years, so it was so lovely to connect again like no time had passed at all

Went to Healesville Sanctuary, a lovely conservation park which focuses on preserving and educating its visitors about Australian animals, with Amy

Went to mini-golf for a friend’s birthday on the leap day. He technically celebrated his 6th birthday which was excellent

Saw Cody Ko and Noel Miller live with Bec and Katie

Finished working at the church office to make room for the potential job opportunity at KidsCo

March:

Ahhh March, you shitstorm of a month. This is where everything started going downhill.

The first thing of note that happened this month was me injuring my ankle at basketball, which had me out of action for a few weeks. It was especially bad because I was nearing the end of my internship and was hoping to do my best work so that I would be chosen to stay on as an employee, but had to take a week or so off to rest my ankle. My ankle would continue to be tender and sore for most of the rest of the year

Went away for the Labour Day long weekend with the family

Finished up my internship at KidsCo. Honestly was lead to believe that I would be staying on as an employee and felt sort of betrayed after all the work I did for them, but whatever

Had a party at Bec’s house to listen to Triple J’s Hottest 100 of the Decade. One of my favourite songs was number 1 which was a pleasant surprise

Went down to the holiday house for a few days just to have so me time and sort myself out

Animal Crossing New Horizons came out haha. Honestly was one of the highlights of this year though. I stayed up until midnight so I could download it as soon as it was available because that’s the sort of person I am

Mum’s birthday dinner with Dani, one of my best friends, and her girlfriend Amy

Went for a hike at Sugarloaf Reservoir with Josh and got spooked by a mob of kangaroos

April:

My mental health started really taking a downward spiral this month for multiple reasons which I won’t get into here, but this is more a note to my past self to say that it will all be ok I guess? Idk I just felt like this needed to be here

Did my ankle badly again on Good Friday

Watched the Overwatch League live with my friends and just memed in the livechat lmao

WARNING - this is a bit TMI but I am going to share anyway since it was a big part of this year, and if you are reading this you are either a stranger or a good friend so I really don’t care lmao: This month I also started to get bad pains in my uterus, like, not period pains but deep, stabbing pains. This continued on for the next few weeks without me doing anything about it, except for increasingly getting stressed about it, although I will talk a bit more about this later.

Josh and I celebrated our 6th year together which was ~wholesome~

Called my friend Ashley from the US and just caught up. It was nice to see her face again. She is a good egg. I haven’t talked to her since but I really hope she’s ok.

May:

Watched Star Wars with Josh and his family for “May the 4th”

Started a volunteer job at Kivuli, a non-for-prophet that is based in Kenya, and started helping out with their website and social media stuff

Zoom movie time with my friends, we watched How To Train Your Dragon I think? Athough everyone was talking over the movie so I didn’t really get anything out of it

Played Scattergories (one of my favourite games) with Bec and Jess on zoom and just wrote really stupid and funny answers and I remember this being just what I needed

Went for a long walk with mum and one of her friends and her daughter on a track we don’t usually go on, which was a nice change of scenery

Went down to the holiday house for the first time in forever since restrictions were eased, at least for a little while lol, with the fam

Went to Portsea for a walk along the beach with Bec and her husband Trevor

Did an online trivia night that night with a big bunch of friends

Had a doctor’s appointment to see what was goin’ on down there. Honestly freaked that it could be something REALLY bad. Got booked in to have an ultrasound the next week, so at least I’d be finding out what was wrong soon.

The day after I got my results was the 21st of May, the day my mum and I were meant to be flying out to the UK to see my sister and her boyfriend. It was already hard enough a month or so before when I had to cancel my flight, but this day was so SO difficult. I can’t remember the last time I cried so hard. I am so blessed to have a boyfriend like Josh though. He was by my side the whole day, and held me as I cried. Oh man I am crying as I write this now, it was such a hard time but I know I will see my sister again.

And then the day after THAT whole ordeal was my birthday, which was meant to be spent in London with Jess but it turned out to be the first birthday we’ve had apart. This day was also hard, but made better by being with loved ones and having dinner at my grandma and grandpa’s house. Grandma’s roast potatoes make everything better.

Went to Geelong to see the other side of my family, it was so good to see my nan again. I love her very much.

Went to the Briars with Bec and went on a lovely nature walk and saw a lot of little wallabies and even an emu

Had an ultrasound and my pain turned out to be a 10cm wide cyst!!! So fun!!!!! Thank the heavens it wasn’t a child. I was so relieved. It is still in my body so that’s cute tho.

June:

Applied for a bunch of jobs, and even got a few interviews! Still no job.

The absolute highlight of this month, and maybe even the whole year, was going away to Lake’s Entrance and Yarram with mum, dad and Josh. It was so good to go to the country, I love country towns so much and the wildlife and nature is so beautiful in the eastern part of Victoria. If you ever get the opportunity I recommend going there!

We ate so much nice food and just relaxed. It wasn’t a perfect replacement for not going to Europe, but it was something at least.

Did more work for Kivuli which kept me busy

Went to Bec’s house to bake a cake. She came out to me as bi this day too, and the cake was coloured like the bisexual flag!

Started a short course through the university I went to in Facebook for Business. It was a great way to build up my skills.

Played Animal Crossing with Dani’s little sister, Tami, a very wholesome time

Looked after Josh’s dog Jed while his family went away for the weekend (also went into the start of July) and was honestly the greatest time

July:

Halfway through the year. Thank fuck.

Had another job interview

Went on lots of walks

Was just generally cold

Did a lot of cleaning

Painted the downstairs rooms at church, which took a few days and a lot of back pain, but it’s cool to think that I was able to contribute my energy and time to something while I was not feeling good at all

The restrictions were tightened again, meaning that I couldn’t go further than 5kms away from my house, except to see Josh, so this was a really lonely time for me.

Really got into Masterchef with mum this season. They had all returning contestants from other seasons so that was really fun to watch.

Got and assembled a new couch upstairs that I can say I actually own myself. I absolutely love it.

More walks, despite the cold

This was a very uneventful month, but that’s ok!

August:

Had a call with the hospital I’ll be having my cyst surgery with. It was good to know that things would be started. I had to have a blood test and a second ultrasound then put on the waiting list for surgery. Still no sign on when that will be happening though 6 months later. Just so lucky to live in Australia where all of these appointments are free.

Went for a really nice long walk with Josh. Got shat on by a bird.

Did lots of stuff around the house, just tidying and watering the plants and sorting through my wardrobe to purge all the clothes I grew out of

Had an online Switch games night with some friends which was fun. We played Smash Bros. and Mario Kart and just had a great time!

Ok this sounds super lame but my favourite podcast, The Jenna & Julien Podcast, finished forever which came as a surprise and was just really sad. I really hope it comes back one day.

Did my tax return lmao

Baked rice puff/marshmallow bar things

Made an ASOS order to fill my happiness with material things. Did get some cute clothes and lingerie tho 😉

More games with Bec and Jess, we played Golf With Your Friends this time

Had a cocktail night with Josh, where we just made a bunch of fun cocktails and got drunk. I can’t wait to live with him so we can do this all the time.

Lots of Kivuli work, as we are planning for our 10th anniversary fundraising event

September:

Baked cookies, which was something I did a lot at the start of lockdown but sort of drifted away from. I absolutely love to bake.

Started working for Media-Wize, a small PR company that was started by someone I know at church.

Started playing Among Us at the start of the month

So many Among Us nights omg, just call me queen impostor please

Did my induction for Media-Wize

Got n e r v o u s because I kept getting things wrong in my new job. I always seem to fuck up the good things and opportunities that I get

Did a livestream reading of The Great Gatsby on my friend’s Twitch stream. It was really fun and something I had never done before. I voiced Tom Buchannan, which was interesting but cool to sort of get into the character. I hope to do something like this soon.

I burnt my hair while cooking dinner and had to give myself a haircut lmao. It was the first time since 2018 that I had cut it so it was a long time coming anyway.

So much Media-Wize work. It felt good to finally be getting paid to do a job

Got locked out of my bathroom so I had to climb up the laundry chute to unlock it from the inside, all because a fly outsmarted me (it’s a long story… and honestly best told by speaking it)

October:

Had the Kivuli 10th anniversary livestream. Lots of work went into it and it was so much fun! It’s incredible that a non-for-profit that has benefitted so many children and families is still going strong. Such a blessing to see.

Dad’s birthday, and we had a picnic with grandma and grandpa and saw them for the first time since lockdown was somewhat lifted

Walked to Beasley’s nursery with Josh and got a coffee. This was the first proper, not McCafe coffee I had had in months and it was SO good

Played Animal Crossing with Dani

More Among Us, a theme for the last few months of 2020

Watched the AFL Grand Final. Wasn’t super exciting this year tbh, especially since we couldn’t have a BBQ or party or anything, but hopefully next year will be different

Nearly moved out of home with a friend of a friend, but since I didn’t have a job, didn’t think it would be a wise decision. Would’ve been nice though

Did some more Media-Wize work. I haven’t been given anything to do since this time though, so I don’t know what’s going on with that? They really be ghosting me tho.

Applied for JobSeeker so I would at least be getting a little income

New Jackbox came out, and had a games night with The Boys playing all the new games

Voted in the local election

Went to Westerfold’s Park with Josh for a lovely long walk

Played lots of The Sims 4 (but tbh I have been doing this all year)

November:

This month things sort of started to turn around, as Covid wasn’t hitting my state hardly at all, so I was actually able to see family and friends again!

Went to my old primary school with Dani and played basketball and just shot around and talked. She also came over for dinner. It was so nice, and she is a true friend.

Had a picnic at the park at the top of the street with my dad’s side of the family, all together at last

Melbourne Cup Day, not that I really care but it’s nice to get a day off. Went on a day trip to the Dandenong mountain range. It was so, so nice and bought some lovely little things from local shops, went for a bushwalk and had a bakery lunch

Went to the park to throw the frisbee and kick the footy around with Josh and his friends, although they are my friends too tbh

Had a picnic with a group of friends that I hadn’t seen since January, so it was so, so good to catch up with them and have a delicious BBQ dinner

My favourite online comedy group, Aunty Donna’s Netflix series came out! Had a virtual watch party with a few friends and binge watched it all in one go

Had lunch with grandma. This used to be a weekly occurrence but for obvious reasons was put off for this year. I absolutely adore her and every lunch we spend together is so precious to me

Went to Kyneton with some of the family as another day trip

Christmas shopping time again. So weird to be at the shops and feel sort of normal? I went 4 different times in the span of a week and a half haha

Josh’s birthday! We went to this maze place with has a bunch of big mazes and other fun activities. It was such a perfect day. Then we had dinner with his family.

Got a letter from the IRS saying that I needed to provide them with proof of identity, so that was fun trying to sort that out. We love the outdated US tax system <3

Went to a bridal shower for my friend Katie

Went for another hike with Josh to the mountains

Drove down to Geelong for a friend’s wedding and stayed at my nan’s house

Had a pub dinner and Jackbox night while down in Geelong with The Boys

A good friend of mine was leaving to live in Japan for two years, so I went to her house one last time to say goodbye and chill in her pool and just hang out

God why is it so hard to get a job?

December:

Omg we have made it to December. It truly is a miracle with how this year went tbh. And if you have read this far, thank you but also, how little of a life do you have?

Went to my friend Katie’s wedding. Sort of surreal to go to a wedding during a pandemic but it was fun and I got to see a lot of friends I hadn’t seen in a while

Enjoyed the hot weather and went to the beach a number of times with a variety of friends

Went Christmas shopping, and just shopping in general since it was safe to and shops had finally opened again

Got a job at a talent agency where you get gigs as a paid extra in TV shows and movies, which was pretty cool! I even had a professional photoshoot to get headshots done, something that I had never done before. Glad that I could get some pictures to use on LinkedIn though haha. Still haven’t been cast in anything but here’s hoping.

Had dinner and drinks with Josh, Bec and Trev in the city for the first time since it reopened. God I love Melbourne so much. It is just so magical on balmy summer nights. This was such a special evening, and was so good just to be in the city again

Had a lovely day with Dani, starting with breakfast and then going on a hike before the weather got too hot. We went to Sherbrooke Forest, a place I hadn’t been before, and it was incredibly beautiful

Had a number of job interviews this month too, none of which got back to me which was annoying :/

Now it was heading into the time where every weekend is packed with Christmas do’s so I’ll just collate them in this point. Lots of drinks were consumed and many delicious roast dinners

Had our annual Christmas Carol’s service at church. It was a blessing to be back in the building for the first time since March, and to be able to do something I love (singing) with some of my best friends was the best

Christmas eve I went to my grandma and grandpa’s house (on dad’s side) to help them set up for Christmas lunch. Spending time together just the three of us is so special, and I am so glad I was able to come over and just chat and be in their loving presence. Then that night I went to our 11pm church service to bring in Christmas day. It was a great service and was great to see our kick-ass minister give a sermon face-to-face.

Ok here we go, Christmas was a doozy, let’s go. So Christmas lunch was, as I said, with my dad’s side of the family, which is always a great time. Cracking open crackers and fighting over who’ll get the bottle opener or nail clippers is always a highlight haha. But we had the fucking best roast potatoes I swear. I need to know what my grandma puts into them because I could genuinely eat 20 of them and still have space. Then the rest of the afternoon was spent in a food coma until I went to Josh’s house to spend dinner with his family. Another delicious meal and great banter was what I needed, although I can safely say that I put on at least 5 additional kilos after that day.

The next day the fam and I headed to Geelong to see my mum’s side of the family. Was a great drive down and I listened to all of The Avalanches new album which had just released. Easily the greatest album of the yeah hands-down. So we spent lunch there and absolutely stuffed ourselves with more food. Three Christmas meals really took a toll on me, but I am just blessed as it is to have a loving family and food on the table.

The next day dad, Josh and I headed to the beach to spend that weird time between Christmas and New Year’s. To get there we took the ferry that goes from Queenscliff to Portsea, which is always a fun time, since we don’t often go from one side of the bay to the other (if you don’t know the geography of Victoria I apologise lmao). Mum didn’t come with us as she had some symptoms of Covid, so went home to isolate and get tested. Thankfully she tested negative and she joined us the next day.

Once I got back home I had to prepare the house for my friend Jono who was visiting for new years from SA. Many last-minute chores and cleaning was done haha.

New Years Eve! Went to pick up Jono and my other friend Sarah from the airport and dropped Sarah off at her accommodation and ended up staying there with Jono for a while as this was where the New Year’s party was going to be. Although, in true Victorian fashion, our premier announced that there was going to be a limit of 15 visitors at any house from 5pm that night. Excellent. We love a last-minute change of plans. So we had lunch and spent the afternoon at my friend’s house before heading to a local park to chuck the frisbee and kick the footy around. We also had our second annual NYE trivia competition, which my team lost by 1 point!! Dang I get so competitive, but we will win next year, I can feel it. The new year came through uneventfully, we were in the middle of a game of Scattergories or something like that when someone changed the channel on the TV to see the Sydney fireworks across the screen and like, 4 second left of the countdown. I gave Josh a bog ol’ smooch and gave my friends a big hug. We had done it. 2020 was defeated.

Conclusion (damn this really be an essay tho)

This year was undeniably the hardest year I had ever been through. Going through unemployment for the majority of the year and having no sense of purpose hit me hard but I am entering 2021 with the hope and willingness to get on track with my career. And I think I will be successful. A lot of truly awful things happened around the world this year as well, with the devastating bushfires at the start of the year, the powerful BLM protests, Coronavirus absolutely destroying lives and many, many other global events but through it all, here we are. I hope you all keep well this year and that your 2021 is infinitely better than your 2020.

Song of the Year: Tangerine – Glass Animals

Album of the Year: We Will Always Love You – The Avalanches (I CANNOT stress this enough, but you absolutely must listen to this album!)

TV Show of the Year: The Mandalorian - Season 2

Movie of the Year: Bombshell (the only movie I saw at the cinemas so didn’t have much to go with)

Memory of the Year: Going away with my family and just enjoying time away with each other

Thank you for reading this, if you’ve made it this far, you’re a real one <3

#me #2020 #2020inreview #nostalgia #anactualnovel #iapologise

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thecardsimagine · 5 years

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New Year’s Celebration HCs

Yay! I queued this to hopefully post after New Year’s Eve here in Germany lol, but I personally want to wish you all a Happy New Year no matter where you are and I hope for this decade to be one which will be good and forgiving to all of us, even with all the challenges still to come in our lives everyday!

Please enjoy some celebration HC’s for our lovely Arcana Sweethearts!

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Asra

Asra is for everything open to do. They could stay in all day or attend some party invites from all their friends and family, but if it’s just the two of them for the night, he’ll set up the room for them with some candles and snacks until midnight. He’ll be a big fan of all kinds of readings to do before the clock strikes twelve, from Tarot and asking questions to lead-pouring and see what’s in for them in the next year. He invited Muriel too, who may or may not show up on some point, but there is no pressure on him to come. They share their time with telling each other about wishes and what their expectations are like, but don’t look back further into the past than they have to, wrapped in blankets and sunk into pillows until they hear the first bangings of the fireworks. Only for a few minutes, Asra will look out of the window with the MC, before reaching for their hand and taking them for a night run through the city, seeing all the different fireworks and greet people in passing before they reach some place higher, a place he still knew from the past, so he can show the lights to them more clearly. And that’s where they will stay until the fireworks stop, even if the MC falls asleep on his shoulder, knowing that Asra will bring them home safely

Nadia

As a person of interest for many, it is in HER best interest to throw a party. Not as big and headache-inducing as the Masquerade, but still big enough for family and other royals to attend, as well as all her and the MCs friends. She tries to distance herself from the preparation as much as possible, especially when MC and Portia tell her to rely on the people around her, making this the first step into her personal resolutions for the next year. Then again, she is still busy placing and ordering some stuff around but still stays out of some decisions, praying everyone did the things she would have done. Before the celebrations, she’ll invite the MC for a bath, taking all the time she needs to calm and get dressed before the grand entrance. Afterwards, it’s a pretty typical ball, and she flaunts around, greeting everyone and having conversations, always making small stops with the people she loves to regain some more strength. A page will inform Nadia that it’s time, so she’ll have everyone retreat to the balcony for the celebration, watching the fireworks light a new year together with the most important people closest to her

Julian

From everyone, he kind of takes the easiest route, merely asking people to join him at the Rowdy Raven. It’s pretty casually at first, but alcohol is pouring into everyone attending, so when they still have two more hours before midnight, everyone is pretty drunk and in a festive mood, singing and dancing on the tables, the bartender telling everyone to grab their own drinks since he cannot keep up with serving them. It might not be the prettiest celebration, but everyone - no matter if friend or stranger, is having fun as if it was a family reunion. And if someone doesn’t - they get thrown into the canal outside. Randomly, someone will shout into the crowd that it’s shortly before midnight and Julian senses his chance, whisking away all his friends unsuspiciously to the docks, showing them the fireworks he got - as he said legally, and not from the palaces treasury - to them and lights them with everyone as the clock strikes twelve. Enthusiastic, Julian will look after them, cheering for his rocket going the farthest before going around and wishing everyone a Happy New Year, including a kiss from him to everyone. He didn’t miss out on being the first kiss for all his friends that year, and one special one for the MC if they allow it

Muriel

Muriel really doesn’t want too much of a ruckus, and the loud banging of fireworks is too stressful for someone who usually stays away as far as possible from the loudness of the city. So the best bet for him is having Asra and the MC come visit him on New Year’s Eve, luring him out of the cottage for a walk before suggesting a picknick in the fields far outside of Vesuvia. This way, they will still see the lights above the city, but it will neither be as loud and as intrusive as he fears this celebration to be. So instead, they spent their evening telling stories and sharing wishes for the next year, Inanna always at his side, knowing something is going to happen. But they don’t even notice the time at all, Asra randomly pointing out stars, when the first firework starts up, and they all flinch before turning towards it, admiring the play of lights of a while. Though he and Inanna are bundled up together, giving each other protection from the bangs, Muriel still has to admit he cannot take his eyes off the magical colors, something he has seen so much in his life, yet always gets mesmerized by. They end up watching in silence and awe, except for some chuckles every now and then, before Asra and MC start to wish a Happy New Year, catching a seldom blissful smile on Muri’s lips

Portia

Even without being able to throw a huge party, she’s preparing for as big of a get-together possible, preferable at her home. Setting up a lot of lamps and seating space in the garden area before the little hut and letting everyone bring food and snacks, she invites everyone who wants to come, including Nadia, Mazelinka, and Selasi. Of course, everyone who is close to her and the MC will attend, and it will be as merry of a celebration as could be. Most of the time, Portia will be running around, trying to make everything perfect until MC and Nadia pull her down on a seat, telling her to join them. Still, latest when it’s time for the change of year, Portia is up and bringing everyone all kinds of drinks, from rum for Julian to wine for Nadia - whatever Portia managed to gather. She’s the one who cheers the loudest once the clock strikes midnight, and the celebration goes from here for a bit of time longer until everyone disperses and leaves for the night. She’ll admit afterwards that though it’s difficult throwing a party, it’s just so much fun and she looks forward to the next year

Lucio

Much like Nadia, but more for his own pleasure, Lucio throws a private party, bunkering the ballroom. He has mostly him and the MC there, also some people who still support him and the courtiers were invited, but if they nag him long enough, he will allow Nadia to bring her party there too, rejoining them with everyone. Lucio isn’t all too pleased with everyone bothering him for New Year’s resolutions. Still, he endures it for the sake of the party. There is a whole lot of dancing and much less talking with anyone he doesn’t want to, but when he sees his chance to announce what should be Nadia’s task, he will grab it, wanting to be the first to wish everyone a Happy New Year before Nadia can snag the attention again, thanking everyone for coming. Much to her annoyance, he and she have a bit of an act on the steps to the ballroom, Nadia trying to thank everyone for the last year, and Lucio insistent on talking about himself and his ideas for the next one. It’s super funny to watch, and the MC will be the one to jump in and ask people to come to the balcony, two minutes before midnight, which leaves Nadia shaking her head and Lucio sullen over not being able to talk more. But next they know, he drags them by the wrists outside, to watch the fireworks, excited like the child of a man he is He’ll also be more than happy to be the MCs first kiss for the new year if they let him

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vgm-in-irregular-time-of-the-day · 4 years

Video

youtube

DAY 1850) Tron 2.0 - Credits Medley

Composer: Nathan Grigg, Wendy Carlos

Given that this is a medley; there’s lots of timesig changes but they’re more like unrelated sections from each other, often totally fading in/out or with ambiguous pauses, so I’ll just talk about each section separately.

0:00 - 1:29 is all just 4/4, frantic drums, crazy synth sound design, but no odd time really for this section.

1:29 - 1:44 i’m counting as triplets in mixed meter: 4/4, 4/4, 5/4, 5/4, 6/4, 5/4, 4/4. if you were to count those as 8ths instead of triplets it’d be more like 12/8, 12/8, 15/8, 15/8, 18/8, 15/8, 12/8 (replace the 8s with 16s if you’re going to be weird like me and count them as 16ths if you find x/16 more natural to think about for some reason) !

1:46 - 2:17 is polymetric! The syncopated bell-like synth ostinato is in 7/8, but the slower synth hits and most everything else behind it really are in 6/4. For a short bit before 2:17 I guess there’s some 5/8 polymeter in one of the synth layers also. Some other more ambiguous stuff you might be able to interpret as even further layers of polymeter but the point is like, yeah this part’s lots of layers looping in different loop lengths from each other on top of each other!

2:17 - 3:06′s at a bit faster a tempo than the previous section. Also polymetric but a lot simpler case of it. 4/4 in that metallic bell-like synth rhythm, and 6/4 polymeter in the beeps under it from 2:17 - 2:42

3:06 - 4:03, here it’s 6/4 through most of the parts of this that have enough of a rhythm to latch onto something, which only really happens starting with the echoy drums that come in at 3:31.

4:03 - 4:45 is interesting; this is taken from “FCon/The Root of the Problem (Combat)”, which is one of the tracks I have on my biiiiig queue of possible tracks to eventually post on here but never happened to ever post. I’d count this snippet of it as all 7+8, 15/16, but just being aware that there’s a constant four-on-the-floor “4/4″ kick acting “polymetric” to it from the bits at 4:15 - 4:21 / 4:27 - 4:34.

4:45 - end is all loose, but just 4/4 stuff whenever concretely countable

Hopefully I addressed everything important here! there’s a lot going on in all of these sections, so it wouldn’t surprise me if I missed an obvious polymeter layer or something and just didn’t realize it! Lots of these sections come from other tracks in the game too, so are in a bit different of a context musically from their amalgamation here. Obviously wild tempo changes between each section that i’m not bothering to write out lol

This is a great cross section of the crazy stuff present throughout this ost though, tron 2.0 is totally one of the most odd time/polymeter/etc filled game soundtracks out there. Part of that’s obvious influence from Wendy Carlos’s original score to the 1982 film being much like that (and this game borrowing a lot of the material she wrote), but Nathan Grigg’s style is always full of that kinda thing as well, and he only adds to that intricacy in his original additions to the mix!

For all those reasons I thought this would be a pretty good sort-of-sendoff for this blog i’ve been running for over 5 years...........

....so...

...!

...THE FINAL DAY sort of...! As I said many posts ago (https://vgm-in-irregular-time-of-the-day.tumblr.com/post/623135939348365312/day-1828-shining-force-cd-track-25-composer) [probably a better read than my post right now here today], this will be my final post that’s in the “1 song presented with a text post daily” format; I’ll take a break but I will eventually shift to talking about this again in (most likely) YT video vgm mixes, including other related content besides just the very specific odd timesig stuff in vgm too!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me all this time! ULTRA SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO CHz who has helped me out with this blog FAR more than anyone could possibly imagine, he’s done far more work than anyone ever needed to do, far beyond my expectations to help me along with this. And he doesn’t get enough credit for that, this blog would’ve probably died a long time ago without chz’s help. Thank you so much CHz for all your assistance! Sharing me things you remember when I’m in desperate need of a new track to post at the last minute, uploading so much music for me, helping me organize so much, writing out timesig charts for me so many times, sharing overwhelmingly huge amounts of odd time vgm with me, probably even more than anyone else. So many other things all these years you’ve helped me with on here, I can’t thank you enough!

That said, thank you to EVERYONE who has shared odd time vgm with me (and this is like, a LOT of people, far too many to list, and i’m sure plenty would be uncomfortable being listed too, so i won’t subject this post to that).

I’m very bad at responding to PMs and other messages sent to me; I apologize greatly if i’ve left you hanging for months...or years...or forever. I’m just bad at that form of communication lol, but I’ve read the majority of what’s been sent and still try to keep as much as possible in my big list backlog of stuff to eventually post. I get excited and happy when I see people linking me new odd time vgm i’ve never heard and stuff like that; so if i’ve never responded or never posted stuff you’ve linked me here, please know that I actually do appreciate it even if i might not show it haha. I’ve honestly mostly only maintained this blog pretty sporadically and rely heavily on queuing everything in advance on occasion, rather than constant observation of it.

Once i shift to the new format of presentation i’ll still include the suggestions that’ve been linked to me, and stuff. I’ll maybe try to be more communicative in the future now that i’m not going to be bogged down by the load of keeping a constant daily stream of these posts. (though i probably won’t be paying too much attention to tumblr for a while during my break from doing this stuff)

thank you to everyone for every positive comment, every intent to help by sharing, and just...general inquisitiveness and enthusiasm about this THING i’m doing for no reason! This is all literally just me nerding out about my favorite combination of niche subjects together “proggy/mathy/etc music” and “video game music” at the same time as each other. I never expected this would get anything close to the following it’s gotten, but now occasionally it’ll get pointed out that this blog is me in some group i’m in or something and 5 people will be like “WAIT...that’s YOU?! I’ve been watching that blog for years!” or something; like i’m really startled by how many people follow this sometimes lol.

Really thankful for everyone showing interest in me just being me, having fun talking about things i like in music. I hope that can continue even if i’ll be changing what I talk about and how I talk about it!

It might be quite a while before I return to doing this kind of thing again, and it’ll definitely be a much less constant pace, but I think that trade-off be worth it. I’ll return to making posts here again when I finally have new stuff to post, big video mixes with animated visual transcriptions or WHATever i wind up doing (probably a new dedicated youtube channel for the new stuff too) and stuff! I’ll find out what that will be when I get there

Thank you all for everything!

THank you!

WOW

THANKJ YOU for all 5 years of this website being a fun place to post music i like inside of

BYE

OH WAIt here’s my twitter/soundcloud/etc links and stuff if you want to contact me in a place i’ll be far more attentive to than tumblr, since i won’t be paying attention to here for a while:

https://twitter.com/chimeratio_

https://soundcloud.com/chimeratio

ok now ACTUALLY BYE

THANK YOUI

(thank you part 2)

#vgm #video game music #tron #tron 2.0 #time signature #polymeter #polymetric #mixed meter #odd time #odd meter #odd time signature #irregular time #irregular meter #irregular time signature #uncommon time #uncommon meter #uncommon time signature

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joseph-the-daddy-seed · 6 years

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Furry Apologies: Jacob Seed x Reader

A/N: My very first Jacob Seed fic!! I really hope I was able to capture his character well. We never get to really see Jacob’s soft side unless you squint and even then that’s pushing it so this is kinda what I think that side of Jacob would be like. This fic was based off two requests I got; one wanted a puppy and the other wanted something cute. Pride may be a sin but I think I delivered lol. I really think you guys are gonna like this, it’s fluffy, it’s cute. and it’s even a little angsty. So, enjoy!!! (Was planning on queuing this up to come out Wednesday but I thought it was just too good to keep from you so Christmas comes early for y’all lol)

Summary: Yours and Jacob’s relationship isn’t as good as it could be, and he decides to make it up to you

Word Count: 2508

Yours and Jacob’s relationship was… well… complicated. You both loved one another sure, but that didn’t stop the plethora of things that went on between you.

He did his best to hide all of your problems from the rest of the church but his brothers knew everything and so did Faith.

It was no secret to the Seed Family that you two argued, a lot. A lot of the times it would be over something stupid and meaningless, like who was supposed to do this chore, what you were supposed to be eating for dinner, or anything small that you two even slightly disagreed on. Other times, your arguments were more serious. You argued about him never being home, you questioned each other’s love, and each other’s devotion to the church.

Each time you argued, screams would erupt, words and curses would fly, accusations would be thrown, and something in your home would always end up broken. Each time the argument was over, one of you would end up leaving for the night and either sleep in their car or at another Seed’s home.

But somehow, the next morning, you made up, apologised with and a kiss and pretend it never happened until a couple days later when the whole cycle repeated itself.

Admittedly, your relationship wasn’t the healthiest but neither of you could bear to part forever. It was an unspoken fact that both you needed each other. You needed Jacob to love you like no one else ever had and Jacob needed you to remind him that he wasn’t in Iraq anymore.

If you two broke up forever, all that you had from each other would be gone and that wasn’t a sacrifice either of you were willing to make. So, every three or so days you’d argue and put up with each other’s shit just for the sake of knowing you had someone.

One night, your argument got particularly heated…

You both stood in the kitchen, you leaning over the island counter and him halfway sitting on the counter behind it next to the sink, listening to you yell and trying not to explode again like Joseph had suggested earlier in the week.

“Well Jacob? Do you have anything to say?” you shout, heat rising to your face and practically steaming off the top of your head.

You were mad that Jacob had decided to up and leave for five days without even telling you. Not only that, but he didn’t bother to let you know or have anyone else tell you. You wouldn’t have even figured it out had you not been told by Faith who was concerned about your worried frantic state as you searched for him.

As you scream, Jacob looks down and bites his knuckle, knowing that if he looks at you he’ll lose all control and go just as ballistic as you.

His silence making you even angrier, you continue screaming, “Did you really think that I wouldn’t be worried about you if you just decided to go to your little training camp without telling me!? Jake, it’s dangerous out there right now, especially with that crazy Deputy running around. You need to tell me this stuff goddammit!”

He looks to the left, still not making eye contact with you and you grab a plate that had been left out by him a few hours ago. “You fucking bastard,” you chuck the plate at the cabinets that he just happened to be looking at and it shatters a feet or two left of his knees.

By now, he’s used to things being thrown at him by you so he doesn’t even flinch in the slightest but he does become even more furious. As your argument continues, it becomes harder and harder for him to keep his cool.

“You’re never home,” you keep shouting, your voice becoming hoarse. You’re sure that everyone within a mile can hear you but this has gone on long enough and you have had enough. “You’re never home, and when you are you want me to pretend that you’ve been here the whole time. You honestly expect me to love you like someone who is always there for me when you aren’t Jacob. You’re never there. Sometimes Jake, I feel like your little army is more important than me but yet you come home and tell me ‘nothing could ever be more important than me.’

“Well? Which one is it? Am I more important than your work or not?” By this time, tears were threatening to spill out of your eyes and you were shaking with anger and hurt.

Jacob continues to stay silent but he is also shaking, two seconds away from bursting.

You point at him feebly, “Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise Jacob if you don’t say something I swear I will-”

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!?” he interrupts, finally making eye contact with you, his face so red that it almost matches his hair.

“Do you want me to say ‘sorry’ for doing Joseph’s work? You want me to say that what I’m doing isn’t important? You know damn well that I’m here for you and you also know that my work takes priority over everything. Even myself. I’m not gonna apologise for shit (Y/N). If you don’t like that, there’s the door,” he points behind you and you just shake your head.

“I can’t believe you expect me to just wait for you to come home whenever you feel like it. I need to know these things Jacob. I can’t be expected to just wait like a dog for its master to come home. If he comes home,” you finish, and push yourself off the counter and walking out of the room.

Jacob pushes himself off as well, stepping toward where you left and yells after, slightly afraid that you might be leaving again, and this time, for good. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

You don’t respond but he hears the door to your shared bedroom slam shut and the painting hanging on the wall in the hallway outside it fall.

He angrily shakes his head. Jacob then briskly walks into the foyer of your home, grabs his coat and leaves. On the floor above, you watch him through the window as he gets into his truck and drive away in a rush.

After the dust clears, he’s gone. You’ve never felt this empty after an argument before and the feeling, while not unfamiliar, drains you almost instantly. You immediately collapse on the bed into a puddle of your own tears. You look up at the clock and see the phone sitting next to it.

You debate calling Faith who had talked you through many an argument before but felt like it wouldn’t matter, what has happened has happened and you can’t take it back.

Arguments with Jacob never ended pretty but this time, you fear that it might be the last one. This time, you might just lose him for good.

Flipping over and laying back into yours and Jacob’s bed, you wipe your tears and look at the ceiling. Everything reminded you of him; the decorations, the clothes draped on the back the chair in front of the desk, and the smell. The room reeks of Jacob; musky, earthy, and warm.

You almost smile at the thought of him and all the beautiful memories you two had made in this room; all the times he held you close as he slept, all the times you kissed him and told him he was perfect, all the times you two hummed a song in unison in the dark.

The urge to smile quickly fades however when you are reminded that it might just all be gone in the morning. Suddenly, your cheeks are wet again and as you begin sobbing once more, your eyelids slowly close from your exhausting night.

***

The next morning, you are woken up by the sound of pounding on the door downstairs. As you open your eyes, the light shines into the room and on the bed. The room felt different but you didn’t have time to think about that as you were interrupted again by the banging.

You immediately know who it is without having to go to the window; Jacob. Who else could it possibly be? No one else you knew within two hundred miles ever knocked on a door that loud except the man you had been living with for almost a decade now.

Afraid of what is going to happen when you finally go answer the door, you jump to the window, covering as much of your face with the curtain as you can. You look down to see Jacob standing at the door, bouncing nervously, something he always did in situations he felt uncomfortable in.

He was nervous? you thought. Why? And what is he carrying? You look at the handled case in his strong hand. He’s gripping it so hard that his knuckles are white and he looks like he might crush it. He pounds the door again and you hear him scream “Open the door (Y/N)! We need to talk!”

That is not what you wanted to hear. He’s gonna break up with me. He’s gonna tell me to leave. He’s gonna get get Joseph to kick me out of the church. All these thoughts run through your head as you cautiously walk down the stairs, your hot tears pouring even harder down your face than last night.

When you make it to the door, you take a deep breath. This is it. The last moment I’ll spend as Jacob’s. You reach a shaky hand to the gold knob and turn it.

Jacob stands there on the welcome mat, biting his cheek nervously but when he sees you and the wreck that you’re in, he instantly becomes guilty, knowing full well that he’s the one who caused you to feel this way.

He knows that you just worry about him and he is appreciative that you care but sometimes his temper and his work gets in the way of his love for you. If what he’s about to do works, however, you’ll hopefully be able to forgive his sorry ass.

The two of you stand in silence for a moment, him too nervous and you too sad to speak. You go to wipe your eyes and the movement snaps Jacob out of his daze and he finally begins, “(Y/N),” his voice is surprisingly soft and kind, like how he talks to you when he’s holding you in bed, it catches you off guard and you all but jump.

“I’m sorry,” he continues, “I screwed up, like I always do. I didn’t let you know I was going to be gone and in the process, made you wish you were. I know what I did was wrong and I know that I’m not around as much as I used to be, but, I hope that I can make it up to you.”

He gently pushes past you into the house and closes the door. Jacob then carefully places the case in his hand on the ground and slowly opens the door on the front of it. Confused, you watch him but suddenly understand what is going on when a little baby dog runs out, the furry bundle of joy sitting on your toes and yipping up to you.

You pick him up and Jacob speaks again, “We found him and his brothers and sisters in the woods. I’m pretty sure he’s half german shepherd and half wolf,” he walks up next to you as you hold the puppy like a baby in your arms. Snaking an arm around your waist and looking over your shoulder at the dog, Jacob smiles, “I thought that maybe if I couldn’t always be home for you, this little guy could. He’ll be better to you than I’ve been.”

You look at him and instantly feel bad for making him hate himself like this, “Jake,”

He holds up a hand to stop you, “Sweetheart it’s fine. I know I’m not as good of a partner as I could be but I just want you to know that I love you,” he puts his knuckle under your chin and lifts your head so you’re forced to look at him better.

“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long long time,” he closes his eyes, thinking of all the terrors he went through before you walked into his life, but he opens them again and you notice they have become slightly glossy, “but I’d have never made it through these past years without you. You’re everything to me and I hate it when we argue. I just want it to stop baby. I want us to be happy again, like we were when when we first started living together. Tell me you remember that sweetheart.”

With tears threatening to spill you think back to those times. No yelling, no shouting, no secrets, just the two of you and your love. It hurt to think everything has come to this but you couldn’t agree with him more. You wanted it to stop just as much as him. “I do,” you say with a raspy breath, “and I want this to stop too. But I just get so scared that one day you won’t come home and I’ll be alone again. I love you and I need to know that you love me too. Enough to want to be here.”

Jacob sheds a single tear, not daring to shed another in fear of showing his feelings too much, “Of course I love you,” he moves his hand from under your chin to under your jaw, rubbing your cheek with his thumb, “I couldn’t do any of this without you. You mean so much to me and… and I know I’m not very good with words but… but (Y/N)-”

“Jake,” you stop him, “It’s alright. I get it. You’ve already said enough.” You smile into his eyes, the eyes you’ve come to love so much, and he leans in to kiss you. His lips are sweet, warm, and surprisingly soft. He kisses you like he hasn’t kissed you in years; with true passion.

The two of you could have stood there joined at the lips all day but the furry bundle in your arms yapped, pulling you away from the kiss. Jacob chuckles, “I think he’s hungry. I don’t think he’s eaten since last night,” he then looks back to you as you gently scratch behind the dog’s small ear, “Think about what you want to name him yet?”

You look up at him in horror, “You mean he doesn’t have a name?” Leaning into you, Jacob kisses your head and mumbles into your hair, “I thought I’d let you do the honor.”

You think for a moment, then it hits you, “Fort. It means ‘strong’ in French,” you look up at Jacob one last time, “because he’s gonna be strong just like his daddy.”

#jacob seed #jacob seed x reader #seed family #far cry 5 #fanfic #x reader #farcry5

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secretobsessionstuff · 6 years

Text

Quick little update...I shall be logging off tomorrow!

I’m betting on my blog not being flagged so hopefully all is okay after tomorrow. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Gosh I hope I can keep writing in this community and on tumblr because it has been so great! Fingers crossed!

On a different note, I’ll be without wifi or access to tumblr starting the 20th of December so after that I won’t be posting until the second week of January. I was planning on queuing up some sickfics but with the whole NSFW ban, I really don’t know what will happen so I’m not doing that anymore. I’ll miss you emeto community but I’ll only be gone for a little while and then start writing with my OCs again in the new year. (That is if tumblr doesn't kill the only place where I can express myself and connect with other awesome people)

Anyway, that’s all I have to say and hopefully things stay the same after the 17th. So sorry that my posting will be virtually non-existent for the rest of the year...I’ll be back though...if all goes well lol.

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eurosong · 6 years

Text

ESC 2018 grand final - my ranking

Hey there, folks. So, I’m in LISBOOOON! I have a few posts upcoming today that I’ve queued, but here is the last big post I’ll actually write before the results tonight - my rundown of the grand final and ranking. I’ve tried to give a positive and negative for each of the songs.

Ukraine (14) + A lively, memorable and gently motivating start to the contest - How extra can you get with staging? Also, whilst I’ve grown to enjoy the song, it still makes me feel nothing because of its lyrical pot pourri.

Spain (2) + Adorable chemistry, true love and a song with a hint of old school magic. - Lost some of its gentleness and authenticity with the revamp – and I’m amazed that they added an instrumental crescendo but will do nothing to match it on stage. Slovenia (9) + A song of empowerment and being true to yourself by a strong badass woman that has become an undeniable earworm for me. Hvala da! - Will the staged hitch work as well a second time with a more knowing audience? Lithuania (5) + One of the most genuinely tender and sweet moments of the entire evening, and I love the vulnerability and emotion of Ieva’s voice. - Easily lost between Austria (7) + Extraördinarily rich and warm voice and a quality song that has a great progression between very different verse/bridges and choruses, which compliment each other rather than clash. - I don’t know what is more distracting, the bizarre outfit he’s wearing or the perturbed expressions he’s pulling. Also, that graphic where he appears to transcend is a LOL moment that undermines the seriousness of the song.

Estonia (15) + Elina has definitely got a voice. - This song has got little else. The great operatic arie make you feel things; this just makes me feel that the composers wanted to exhibit her voice but the lyrics and emotional journey were afterthoughts.

Norway (26) + It’s a song encouraging children to believe in themselves and write songs. If they compare what they write with the quality of this song, it’ll give them a lot of self-belief… - I don’t know how someone so smug became so beloved, and I’ll never understand how juries could potentially reward a song which basically consists of one awful jingle riff repeated over and over and over.

Portugal (8) + Portugal once again follow their own impulses, bring us something original and imbued with so much meaning and saudade. - I still find Cláudia’s voice very reedy. United Kingdom (22) + Surie is a real dame, a great representative of her nation and works like hell to get something out of this song. - The song itself is a cliché damp squib with painful lyrics and ridiculous sound effects in the background to try to make it less bland. Serbia (13) + Serbia returns to the final singing in their native language. Hopefully this encourages them to keep on that path and revive their reputation for having great success with Serbian language songs. Also, Balkanika are great people and they’ve served something very different to the typical here. And I love the more traditional vibes from the first minute. - The shift in instrumentation thereafter is less so. I also can’t help but find a lot of things about the song and performance offputting. Serbia’s answer to Deen and the ladies gravitating around him give me real “shindig at the cult compound” vibes.

Germany (12) + Germany’s song is a real emotional gut punch, sang well and with sincerity. - I really don’t like how they got around the no LED screen by bringing one just so that he could perform in front of a glorified lyrics video. It seems like lazy ass staging to me. Also, I could réálly do without the whole oh-eh-oh-eh-ohing.

Albania (1) + An absolute masterpiece in both music and especially lyrics, makes me emotional no matter how many times I’ve heard it. - Sadly, I doubt juries will recognise that. France (6) + This is one of this year’s best examples of the balancing act that is songwriting. They craft a beautiful and impactful song, but one that is simple enough to be widely understood. It will be a high point of human interaction in the evening and a powerful moment. - It’s a little on the repetitive side. And as a guitar player, I’m always a little distracted by seeing people bobbing about pretending to play.

Czechia (20) + It is a catchy song and Mikolas seems like a fun person on stage. - It’s still a song with ghastly misogynistic lyrics, and I’m sort of surprised it got through after an awkward performance in the semis. Is it just me, or did the Czechs pick backing singers who contrast in the most awkward possible way with Mikolas’ voice?

Denmark (19) + The lyrical message is nice. - It’s seriously one of the most repetitive songs of the whole year, and I hate the whole "doing the chorus three times in a row” schtick. Australia (23) + The intentions behind the song are nice. - Sadly, it’s just a wild assortment of clichés, and I’m flabbergasted it got through with a performance that more befitted a drunken aunt at a karaoke.

Finland (18) + Singing about overcoming demons and finding strength in yourself is something positive in my eyes. (I’m going to that well a number of times, I know.) - The performance is a hot mess for me, just throwing as many gimmicks and props at the wall as possible and hoping they stick. Also, Monsters really doesn’t show Saara’s voice in the best light, she gets quite screechy. And those demon children who sound like chipmunks take away any feeling of solemnity.

Bulgaria (16) + It’s a song with a stylishly mysterious and dark score. The lads in the group sing well. - I find Zhana a huge distraction – positioned as a centrepiece of our attention but barely singing. Also, I find it completely the wrong atmosphere for a song about true love. And the fly-by-night nature of the “common framework” means that the song is lacking sincerity and authenticity for me. Moldova (21) + They’ve ascended a little from the very depths of my ranking thanks to how likeable they come across on stage and the brilliantly communicative facial expressions they pull, which really bring the slapstick story to life. - At the end of the day, this isn’t a drama contest and the song itself with its thrusting dirty trumpet blasts and bizarre sound effects is appalling.

Sweden (24) + They’ve allowed a humble light tube store owner to survive another winter… - Sweden going back to the same old well of staging quality well above song quality. And can they please send a woman or band again? I’m getting tired of these presumptuous americlones - last year an ersatz Timberlake, this year a Bieber.

Hungary (11) + Absolutely one of the highlights of Thursday night. I got both chills and visceral thrills from such a candid and passionate performance. - Still not entirely my cup of tea and a tad repetitive.

Israel (17) + If this year really is a battle between Cyprus and Israel, then I’m with the latter all the way. Not my style of song but it’s thoughtful and on a pertinent topic. - Overly memetic, bizarre staging, and I still find it overbearing to listen to. Netherlands (4) + This is the song that is going to rock my socks off and make me want to dance. Love the message, love the music. - The cuts to the dancers seem less awkward but the whole idea is incongruous enough to confuse and put off potential voters.

Ireland (10) + I’ll admit, I felt genuine chills when watching this song and the rapturous applause the two lads got. Eurovision moments like this show us how the world should be. It’s a pleasant song and finally, Ireland is back in the finals. - I still believe a lot of the hype was generated by the video/stage show rather than the song, and Ryan seems a little opportunistic to me… Cyprus (25) + Portugal’s pyrotechnicians will have enough money for a very fancy holiday after this performance. - I can’t believe that this could be the winner. The music is extremely tacky, the lyrics are an afterthought, the use of one random Spanish word is galling (I made my students laugh by singing a song in Spanish and randomly dropping the word “biscuit” in the chorus) and I can’t help but think it’d be a huge step back for the contest. Italy (3) + One of the most moving performances and lyrics of the year – sung with an urgency and an anger that perfectly suits. And Metamoro are absolutely two of the loveliest people to ever participate in the contest and I can’t get enough of them. - The on-screen lyrics, meant to bring the song’s meaning to life, could actually prove a distraction.

#eurovision #esc #eurovision 2018 #eurovision song contest #esc 2018

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